Samaria Baptist Church

Never let anyone ask you why our church writes this weekly church news report. Because of a name on the prayer list, a call was made inquiring about that person and more prayer warriors have been introduced to a person’s need. God is always using our willingness to serve in whatever method we find available to us.

Birthday greetings go out to Cherlyn Stoneback and James Milford.

Happy anniversary to Floyd and Barbara Collins, Jerry and Pat Milford, and Betty and Curtis McCary, who celebrate their 50^th anniversary this week.

Bro. Bobby Patterson blessed our hearts with a recitation of “Drinking from My Saucer.” Bro. Harold Fraser sang “Because He Lives” and did an amazing job.

Prayer concerns this week are for Patsy Courtney Rhodes and family, Collis and Dot Easterling, John Hill, Jan Christianson, Dorothy Creel, Sally Davis, James Smitherman, Mike Smith, Wendell Powell, Cathy Willis, Dwayne Patterson, Jay Patterson, Shana, Linda and Ms. Silas, Marvin Green and Walter and Drusilla Hudgins. Please pray for these when you call on our Lord.

Bro. Shane Wyatt brought a wonderful message from God’s Word. His text was taken from Philippians 4-8 and titled “Think on These Things.”

Out of a good heart proceeds good things, and out of an evil heart will come evil things. The Bible tells us to think on the things of God and the things that he has given us to learn. Pondering the evil and disturbing facts of our nation today and the deliberate destruction that is going along with the times in which we live can only bring us to anxiety and stress.

We must learn to lean on the grace of our Lord and Savior, not allowing ourselves to be buried under the wrongdoing in our world. We are to meditate on the things of goodness, happiness and peace. God’s Word is a road map to the things we can have if we are faithful to study and seek the wonder of Christian living.

Satan clouds our view and messes with our minds to turn us away from God’s truth. We need to think on honesty, truth, justice, purity and things that are lovely. God makes all things to be lovely. Only when Satan enters the picture do we see a person leave the love and joy of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must try to focus on the things of God. He is not the author of confusion or dishonesty. He will change our lives from corruption to a peace of living in his grace and will.

The Ten Commandments are still to be used for us to live by. They provide a clear diagram of the way to experience amazing joy in Christ. When we truly know Jesus Christ, we are never without hope. Mercy is new every single morning, and no matter what our circumstances are, he will show us the way to him.

God bless you. Visit us at Samaria where Jesus is Lord.

Submitted by Diane Fisher

Corinth Baptist Church

We had a wonderful service this past Sunday. Don’t forget our upcoming VBS “Bible Boot Camp,” which will take place June 24-26 from 6:30-8 p.m. with commencement on June 28 at 5 p.m.

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I’m sure we’ve all seen the news lately and realized what a sad state our world is in. Sin is “in.” People don’t want anything to do with God and his ways. God is now connected with hatred and judgmental bigots. “Christians” like those of Westboro Baptist Church are running people away from God at alarming rates. We have to show people what being Christian really means. We have to show them our loving God, and that life only gets better once you know him.

We have to bring back our fellow Christians who have gone astray. We have to show those who believe nothing good or fun can come from loving and believing in our God that they are wrong. To do this we need to live our lives so that others actually want what we have. They need to see that while living life and fulfilling worldly pleasures may seem great at the moment, it will not last forever. All that is good is not always good.

I know I’ve heard the phrase “going to hell in a hand basket” at least a dozen times a day. I don’t know about you, but when I picture that saying in my mind, I envision a gigantic wicker basket full of people with a giant red bow tied atop. People are climbing in, laughing and excited. As the last person jumps in, the basket lifts off of the ground and flies through the air like a hot air balloon.

Some of the people are looking excitedly over the edge, and some are blissfully unaware, staring out into space. The basket starts out in a beautiful green pasture, it then flies over lush forests with beautiful streams winding throughout, but the further it goes the less beautiful things look. Soon, the forest is nothing but stumps, and the lush forest has been turned into a desolate wasteland. The air turns thick with smog and the temperature gets hotter with each passing moment. The ground below turns black, the water turns to dust and just before the basket disappears into darkness, a look of realization sweeps over the inhabitants of the basket, but it’s too late.

Don’t get in that basket. Show others that life is better outside the basket. You can still have fun and live a completely fulfilled life in this world and have an eternity in heaven that awaits you. The key to it all is how you live your life. Colossians 2:8 sums it up pretty well: “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

Until next time, may God bless you and keep you. We hope to see you soon.

Submitted by K.J. Bowen